Semblance
by ProofNegative
Summary: Team RWBY, through training in and outside of Beacon, gain a greater mastery and understanding of their Semblances. In addition, the team mend old wounds and forge new connections between each other. Bumblebee, probable White Rose. Rated M for eventual sexytimes. Feel free to review and comment,I'm open to critique and new ideas. Feel even freer to favorite and follow.
1. New Beginnings

**Semblance **

Chapter One: New Beginnings

Upon opening her eyes, Ruby Rose feels sore. Her entire body aches from the impact of Torchwick's flare, and she groans as she sits up in bed. Listening, she is glad to hear the sound of her team's soft snoring. Her _entire_ team. The drama of Blake's revelation is still fresh, but Ruby is confident that she and her team, now together again, can work through it.

She tries to slide stealthily from her bed, but a combination of the tangled sheets, her sore muscles, and her inherent gracelessness cause her to topple to the floor with a muffled _"Shit!"_ She lies still for a moment, listening to see if she's woken any of her dozing teammates. Other than some murmuring from Yang's bunk-and Yang always murmurs in her sleep anyway- all is good.

Satisfied, she untangles herself, tossing the sheets back onto the bed, before hobbling her way over to the bathroom for a hot, relaxing shower to relieve some of the tension in her muscles. As she closes the door behind her and turns on the hot water, Ruby idly wonders if Blake will let her feel her cat ears.

…

_Thump_

"_Shit!"_

Upon opening her eyes, Yang Xiao-Long feels satisfied.

Blake is back.

Yang's eyes are puffy from days of crying, but Blake is back.

Ruby is sore, but Blake is back.

Weis is…well… Weiss, but_ Blake is back._

Yang rolls out of bed, landing gracefully and almost soundlessly, her golden locks falling around her in a curtain. She smirks as she remembers Weiss's incredulous tone.

"_How can you carry all that extra weight and still be so silent?"_She had demanded, gesturing vaguely at Yang's chest, furious after Yang had unintentionally startled her into spilling coffee over her notes one night.

Yang had simply shrugged, grinned, and hopped into bed, further infuriating Weiss with the fact that she had done so in complete silence.

Now, she pads silently between the two bunks and looks at her two sleeping teammates. Contrary to insultingly popular belief, she is far from stupid. That being said, she knows the following weeks won't be easy. An entire lifetime of prejudice on Weiss's part won't disappear after a single incident, nor will Blake's resentment of the Schnee family's unfair treatment of Faunus.

Yang couldn't care less.

Oh, sure, there might be fights. Weiss and Blake will probably have many more arguments like the one they had the night Blake revealed her Faunus heritage, but Yang can handle that.

Personally, Yang couldn't care less that Blake is a Faunus. Tactically speaking, it gives them more advantages in battle, due to her enhanced senses. On a personal level, this has opened up a whole new world of puns for Yang, for which she is thrilled.

_Speaking of which… _

She sneaks forward and raises her finger, coming within a few inches of Blake's face. Slowly, she moves it forward, practically hearing the _pop_ as she invades the Faunus girl's personal bubble, and caring not at all. Relishing the calm before the pun, she closes her eyes and smiles.

_Blake is back. _

…

Blake opens her eyes, and, before she has time to register thought or feeling, is prodded on the nose by a familiar blond-haired bombshell. Her eyes focus on Yang's wide grin, and, despite herself, she smiles.

"Something you'd like to say, Blakey?" Yang coos, bopping Blake again on the nose.

Blake begins to open her mouth, but Yang covers it with her hand. Blake simply raises an eyebrow, not even attempting to speak through Yang's hand.

Yang quirks her eyebrows. "What's wrong, Blake. Cat got your tongue?"

Blake rolls her eyes and groans, rejecting the pun. Yang removes her hand, its role in the joke over, before hopping onto Blake's bed and lying next to her. "Seriously Blake, how are you?"

Blake turns to the side to face Yang, blushing as she notices that her partner is wearing nothing more than a tight pair of shorts and a bra, what seems to pass for 'pajamas' in Yang's mind. She averts her face for a moment, letting the heat in her face fade before she responds.

"A little sore, but much better."

Yang simply nods and, for once, doesn't say anything else, simply enjoying Blake's company. Blake smiles, relishing the feeling of being back home and, even more so, being accepted. She closes her eyes, and feels content.

…

Upon opening her eyes, Weiss feels conflicted.

To say the least.

Blake is a Faunus.

This goes against everything Weiss knows- thought she knew - about the Faunus. Blake is quite, intelligent, compassionate, and bookish. What she is _not_ is a murderous, thieving fiend.

Out of her entire team, Blake has always been the one that Weiss could relate to the most, neither girl feeling the need to fill the silence with words, unlike both of their partners. Until two days ago, Weiss had never found a single thing wrong with Blake.

_And then_, Weis thinks bitterly, _she goes and becomes a Faunus!_

This, Weiss knows, is absurd. Blake has always been a Faunus, of course. Weiss just finds it difficult to reconcile the new identity that she has attached to Blake with the quite, apparently human girl she has spent the last few months living with.

_Living with_.

Weiss shudders, and immediately scolds herself for doing so.

_There is nothing wrong with living with a Faunus. Blake being a Faunus does not make her a bad person. Living with Faunus-Blake will be the same as living with Human-Blake. _

_Except one of those never existed_, Weiss thinks to herself, bitterly.

She doesn't bother rolling out of bed, though she can hear whispering coming from Blake's bunk and water running in the shower.

Surreptitiously, so as not to alert her teammates, Weiss covers her head with her pillow. She will have to face Blake, but for now she'd rather sleep.

…

_Team RWBY_

_Please report to my office at once_

_Professor Ozpin_

"What do you think it means?" Ruby asks as she dresses, fastening her cape to her uniform and checking herself in the mirror.

"Probably that he wants us, Team RWBY, to report to his office," Weiss deadpans while brushing her hair, adding, almost as an afterthought "preferably at once."

"How astute of you." Blake teases from behind a book, lowering it to offer a small smile to Weiss. Weiss returns it feebly before turning away.

True to form, before the awkwardness has time to mount, Yang exits the bathroom dramatically, steam billowing into the dorm from behind her. "Ah, there's nothing like a hot shower in the morning!" she announces, standing tall and proud. And naked.

Weiss shrieks and covers her eyes. "Dear lord, woman! Put on some clothes!"

"Why?" Yang teases "Am I too _hot_ for you?"

Everyone but Yang simultaneously groans.

"No," Ruby squeaks from behind her cape "you're too _naked_! For everyone!"

"Not for _everyone_." Yang says, winking salaciously at Blake, who, admittedly, has not averted her eyes. Blake glances at both Weiss and Ruby, but they're both hiding their respective sets of eyes. She offers a small smile to Yang, before blushing and ducking behind her book.

"Clothe thyself, harlot", she says, tossing her partner a towel.

"No need, milady." Yang says, catching on immediately. "My inner fire doth burn bright."

Yang tosses the towel back at Blake, who looks up at naked huntress questioningly.

Yang clenches her fists and her eyes briefly flash red. Blake watches as the water on her skin hisses and disappears.

"You didn't set anything on fire this time. Nice"

"Why, thank you." Yang bows, before turning to the dresser to don her uniform. When her pants are on, Blake calls to her teammates, "It's okay, she's decent."

Weiss emerges from behind her hands and puts her hair into its signature askance ponytail. "Warn a girl next time, would you?"

"Sure." Yang begins to brush her own hair, taking care to do so carefully. "Hey Ruby, I'm surprised you're still here. Aren't they serving cookie pancakes for breakfast today?"

Ruby nods, frowning. "Yeah, but Ozpin wants to see us this morning, so we haven't got time for breakfast."

"Well, how soon does he want to see us? Maybe we can hit the cafeteria before we go to his office."

"At once"

"Oh, she's learning." Weiss smirks, standing up and brushing nonexistent dust from her uniform. With one last check in the mirror, she walks to the door, beckoning her partner.

Ruby sticks her tongue out at Weiss before joining her. "Yang, Blake, are you guys ready? We got Ozpin's message half an hour ago. I don't think he'll wait for us much longer."

The two girls nod and, together, the team departs for the Headmaster's office.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Yang complains, pouting. "it's probably nothing."


	2. The Next Step

**RWBYfic: Semblance 4/9/14**

**Chapter Two: **

_**Five Seconds Ago:**_ Ozpin has breakfast.

After receiving his consent to enter the office, the team had filed into the room, only to be met with the heavenly scent of cookie pancakes emanating from a table on the opposite side of the room.

_**Two Seconds Ago:**_ "Sweet ambrosia!" Ruby squealed, disappearing in a cloud of rose petals and reappearing by the table.

_**Now:**_ As her team looks on incredulously, Ruby piles her plate with pancakes, grabs three glasses of milk, and staggers over to a seat in front of Ozpin's desk. Acknowledging Ozpin with a nod of her head, she proceeds to wolf down the food.

"…Wow" Blake says, clearly at a loss for words.

"That was …a thing?" Yang supplies.

Weiss glares at the back of Ruby's head disapprovingly "An uncouth thing." She stalks over to the table, picking up a fork and passing it to her partner, who snatches the utensil and continues eating. "Honestly Ruby, sometimes it's as if you have no manners. We're in polite company!" She brandishes her arm at Ozpin, who chuckles good-naturedly.

"It's alright, Miss Schnee. I'm quite familiar with Miss Rose's appetite." He takes a sip of coffee before beckoning to the rest of the team. "Please, everyone take some food and sit. It would seem we have much to discuss."

Yang and Blake file in, take some food from the table, and sit beside Weiss and Ruby. Ruby, having just finished the equivalent of three servings of food, reaches for her glasses of milk. Quickly draining all three glasses, she sighs contentedly, slumps in her seat, and waves a hand at Ozpin in the universal 'go ahead' motion.

He steeples his fingers, his eyes passing over each member of the team. They come to a rest on Blake, who meets his gaze unflinchingly. Without breaking eye contact, he says "Tell me about this weekend."

Blake holds his gaze coolly, but Yang and Ruby shift uncomfortably.

Ruby cuts in, hoping to avoid the potential disaster speeding toward them. "Well, we went to town, saw a crime scene, combat skirted, tripped over a Penny, saw a boat, and….stuff. Yeah, stuff." Flustered, she grabs the hem of her cape and rubs it between her fingers.

"I see." Ozpin says, still holding eye contact with Blake. "And would this 'stuff' include Miss Belladonna not coming back to your room this weekend?"

Blake stiffens, involuntarily tearing her eyes from Ozpin's. Staring at the floor, she mutters "I've just been having some trouble lately. I spent the night with… a friend."

"Would this 'trouble' have anything to do with your Faunus heritage?"

The room goes still. Ruby and Yang, dropping their cape and fork respectively, stare openmouthed at Ozpin. Weiss manages to suppress a gasp and struggles to maintain her calm façade. Blake silently swears. Her teammate's reactions are confirmation enough. If he wasn't sure before, he is now.

Her eyes slowly rise to meet Ozpin's. Calmly, she asks "You knew?"

"I'd like to think that it takes a little more than a well-placed piece of cloth to fool me." He says, gesturing to her ribbon. A beat passes, and he takes another sip of his coffee. Putting his mug back down, he asks "May I see them?"

Self-conscious, Blake brings one hand up to her bow, and looks at Ozpin questioningly.

"You don't have to, Miss Belladonna. I'd simply like to confirm something."

Blake hesitates, and then nods. She brings her other hand up to her bow and, fingers moving deftly, unties the ribbon.

She freezes.

"S-sorry," she says, a rare quaver in her voice. "I'm not used to..."

Ozpin nods patiently. "Take your time, Miss Belladonna."

Haltingly, she moves her hands away, revealing two pairs of charcoal-gray cat ears flattened atop her head. Ruby, despite herself, squeaks and sits on top of her hands, resisting the urge to reach for the second set of ears. Yang looks with concern not at Blake's ears, but at her face.

Blake looks absolutely miserable.

Weiss glances at Blake briefly, before looking away, an unreadable expression on her face.

Ozpin takes this all in silently. He nods and leans back in his chair, lacing his fingers together. "Tell me everything."

…

"…And then we all came back to Beacon. Sun is staying somewhere in town, but we're not sure where Penny went. We'll probably run into her again soon." Yang finishes.

"Or over her." Weiss mutters, speaking for the first time in half an hour.

"Right." Yang nods "Or over her."

The team had taken turns narrating the weekend, each describing their role in it. When the time had come to describe their argument, both Bake and Weiss faltered and went silent. It had fallen to Yang to portray the argument as best she could, turning to Ruby for confirmation when she was unsure of something. Ruby, having stuffed her face with both Blake and Yang's pancakes, only nodded or shook her head; too busy chewing to contribute much.

Through all of this, Ozpin hadn't said a word, simply nodding at them to continue, his face remaining impassive. At one point, Blake noted, he took out his scroll, laying it flat on his desk so that they couldn't see what he was doing, and used it to record their account of the rather harrowing weekend.

Ozpin types on the scroll, sifting through several documents. Silently, he opens several videos and watches them, occasionally glancing up at a member of team RWBY. In the reflection of his glasses, Blake thinks she sees footage of Ruby, Yang, Weiss, and even herself facing off against different foes. She recognizes the final video as their battle against the Nevermore.

The video ends, and Ozpin closes his eyes, clearly contemplating. He seems to come to a conclusion as his eyes spring open and he types something into the scroll. Raising the device to face level, he intones "Call Professor Goodwitch." It blinks, and the teacher's icon flashes across the screen. She answers it on the first ring.

"Goodwitch speaking."

"Yes, hello Professor. Would you mind coming to my office as soon as possible?"

"Yes, sir. Right away."

"Thank you." Ozpin hangs up, and the scroll snaps shut again. Abruptly, he turns to Ruby.

"Miss Rose, how do you feel about Roman Torchwick?"

Ruby screws up her face in disgust. "Torchwick? He's a total jerk! He robbed an old man!"

"And he's working with the White Fang.", Blake reminds Ruby.

"Yeah! That too!"

Ozpin turns to Yang. "Miss Xiao-Long? What are your thoughts on the matter?"

Yang cracks her knuckles "He hit my sister with a flare and tried to kill my partner. I wouldn't mind having a crack at him."

"And you, Miss Schnee?"

Everyone turns to Weiss, who shrugs impassively. "I'm not fond of anyone who attacks my teammates. Ruby still hasn't recovered from getting shot by him, and he's helping the White Fang." Her eyes harden, and her voice takes on a cold edge. "That's unforgivable."

"I see." Someone knocks on the door, the silhouette of a tall woman visible through the glass.

"Come in." Ozpin calls.

Professor Goodwitch strides into the room. "You needed me for something, Headmaster?" she says coolly, calmly taking in Team RWBY, who are all turned around in their seats to see her.

"Yes." Ozpin says, standing. He attempts to take another sip from his ever-present coffee mug, only to find it empty. Frowning, he sets it back down on the desk. "I'd like you to sign team RWBY up for Advanced Placement Combat Training. He offers the team a wry smile.

"They're going to fight Roman Torchwick."

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